Johanna K Halfon, MD

"This office is abusive and negligent, please stay away! Dr Halfon put me on a birth control that made me bleed for almost 3 months. When I called expressing concern, I was worried it could be a hemorrhage, or something awful. I was talked down to by the staff to the point I had to call Columbia’s Patient Advocate - who told me she had been a nurse for 20 years and mine was the worst story they had ever heard. She actually threatened to pull Columbia from carrying certain insurance carriers. I found out through my own research what happened to me was common, a simple change of hormone dose would have fixed the problem immediately. And it did. If someone had cared to look at my charts and help me they would have known that and I wouldn’t have had to suffer for months. Who lets a patient just bleed for nearly 3 months like that without calling them in or addressing that issue? Then after the switch to the higher dose, one day was experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath - for people who know about birth control, you know that’s a potentially dangerous side effect. I text Dr.Halfon, fully expecting her not to answer as they clearly state if it’s a medical emergency you should call 911. To my surprise she did answer almost immediately - below was a photo of part of our correspondence. Here is the excerpt in case the photo doesn’t show up. “You Feb 16, 7:49 PM Can you describe what you mean by chest pain? Johanna K. Halfon, MD Feb 16, 7:54 PM Pain in your chest when breathing. You Feb 16, 7:55 PM Stabbing pain? Or pressure? Or muscle pain? You Feb 16, 7:58 PM I realize it’s evening and I don’t have a good relationship with your office - but I think you know that’s not what I ment and wanted a more specific answer.” There are different types of chest pains and pain in general that mean different things.Talking down to a patient, especially women who are misdiagnosed twice as often as men, leads to them second guessing their bodies and not seeking treatment that could save their life. That kind of shaming by doctors towards people who do not have the same depth of knowledge about the medical field is horrific. I made the decision to go to the hospital. The ER doctor told me to discontinue the birth control. Also, if you choose to engage with a patient in messenger, you need to see that conversation through - I never heard from her again. I am writing this because this kind of negligence for patients who need more in-depth care than writing a prescription and seeing them once a year, is dangerous and could kill someone. So, if you expect your doctor to pay close attention to your charts, and care about your body when things are going wrong - do not go to Dr Halfon or the Columbia Practice. To the staff at Columbia reading this - I will make sure to monitor this page and if this review is deleted, I will just post it over and over again. You are going to kill someone if you have not already and the women of New York deserve better."

"Dr. Halfon is literally the best OBGYN in the city. She is smart, sweet, understanding, empathetic and an overall excellent doctor. I transferred to her office once I got pregnant and I’m soo glad I did! Even though I got pregnant at the beginning of the pandemic, she was always so available to talk (especially through the Columbia / Weill Cornell app) and she always gets back to me quickly. I was even lucky enough to have her deliver my daughter, which I was super excited about. If you need an OBGYN in the city or you’re just not in love with yours...don’t walk, run, to Dr. Halfon’s office. I absolutely recommend Dr. Halfon to the highest degree."

"Dr. Halfon is the best obstetrician I ever meet. Very professional, nice and sweet. She took care of my pregnancy since day 1 and was there for my Emergency C-section at 4:00 Am in the morning. I really recommend her 100%. She really cares about her patients. I’m so grateful with the experience I had with her."

"Dr. Halfon is one of the best gynecologists in NYC. She is very knowledgeable and extremely patient. She truly cares for her patients and her follow ups are amazing. 100% recommend!"

"Doc Halfon is very patient and sweet. And she's very responsive to all my questions. Highly recommend!"